Boomers no longer focus for marketers in Kelowna
Tourism Kelowna officials say baby boomers now share field with millennials as biggest spenders
Whatever you call them — millennials, Generation X or the Internet generation — the people born in 1977 to 1995 are a boon to tourism in Kelowna.
“The demographic of the tourists coming to Kelowna is getting younger,” said Tourism Kelowna CEO Nancy Cameron.
“Millennials (those aged 22 to 40 this year) are active urbanites who want to stay in a great hotel, eat at farm-to-table restaurants and have all the urban amenities, but they also want to golf, ski, go wine tasting, ziplining, hiking, to the beach and get out on the lake.”
Cameron and Tourism Kelowna chairman Daniel Bibby, who is also manager of Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos and co-owner of Nighthawk Winery in Okanagan Falls, did a tag-team presentation at a Greater Westside Board of Trade lunch Wednesday at The Cove Resort in West Kelowna.
Millennials are generally the children of baby boomers — those born in 1946 to 1964.
Boomers are still active and high-spending tourists, but they now share the field with millennials and Generation X, born in 1965 to 1976.
Gen Z, a.k.a. centennials, those born in 1996 and later, are an important demographic, but they are generally spending their parents’ money, not their own, when it comes to being a tourist and traveller.
Millennials do most of their travel research online and are comfortable using social media.
So, Tourism Kelowna has bumped up its online and social media advertising and presence.
If you tweet you’re looking for a restaurant recommendation or place to stay in Kelowna, a Tourism Kelowna staffer will see it and tweet back right away.
In 2016, Tourism Kelowna’s advertising campaign on Expedia was tracked to determine it resulted in $1 million worth of hotel bookings in Kelowna representing 6,000 room nights and 7,500 airline passengers.
While millennials may be the inspiration for online and social media targeting, the campaigns also serve boomers and Generation X.
Tourism Kelowna also advertises through traditional media.
Tourism Kelowna is looking to the future, and is following the trend of tourist information centres in high-traffic pedestrian areas by opening a visitor centre on the downtown waterfront.
Construction should start this fall for completion late in 2018.
Tourism is worth $1.2 billion a year to the Central Okanagan economy, with 1.9 million overnight visitors coming here annually.